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The object of the study is the condition of the education system in Ukraine and directions of its development. One of the problematic points is the fact that the outdated principles of the functioning of the education sphere and the mechanisms of its management call for the formation of a new system. Education services are a type of social goods, the provision of which is guaranteed by the state. However, outdated management approaches the lack of economic levers of development in the functioning of educational institutions, the quality of acquired educational skills – all this requires the introduction of new directions of development and the application of new management models in practice, and not just declaring them on paper. In the course of the research, the following scientific methods are used, such as a comparative analysis of scientific literature and information sources based on comparative methods to highlight the problem. Methods of systematization and grouping for finding ways to solve the problem. As well as methods of summarizing the results of the analysis and logically forming conclusions when formulating the components of the development of the sphere of education in Ukraine. The article analyzes the problems of the modern sphere of education in Ukraine. As the main departments: instability of the financial condition of educational institutions; complications of introducing their autonomy in practice; reduction of state funding, etc. Quantitative analysis of state expenditures on education financing is provided. The need for systemic reform of the educational funding model to ensure transparency and efficiency with the simultaneous implementation of a differentiated approach based on quality indicators is substantiated. An analysis of the implementation of public-private partnership schemes in the field of education, as one of the methods of effective financing and training of specialists, who are needed in the modern market, was performed. There is a well-founded need to create an audit system of knowledge and skills acquired by pupils, students or trainees, as the main indicator of the correspondence between the directions of training of applicants and the needs of the labor market. The vectors of transformations and further development of the educations’ sphere are outlined.

The article is aimed at studying and analyzing the factors influencing the functioning of the education sphere, as well as evaluating the threats, challenges and opportunities for the introduction of distance learning as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The article analyzes the main problems of the education system of Ukraine during the transition to distance learning during the pandemic: lack of a sufficient number of teachers who would have experience in distance learning; problems with digitalization of educational institutions and applicants; lack of access to training facilities and Internet coverage in small towns/rural settlements; extensiveness of remote lessons in time; lack of national guidelines for the organization of distance learning; increasing the level of social tension among both teachers and students; nutritional problems for vulnerable population groups; decrease in academic mobility and others. A SWOT analysis of distance learning in Ukraine in modern conditions was carried out. The presence of weaknesses of distance learning is noted and directions of using the opportunities and advantages of distance education are outlined, i.e.: increasing the level of education of the population as a whole; obtaining education in leading educational institutions; a likely reduction in student migration, which will facilitate an increase in the standard of living of the country’s population. It is noted that distance learning has certain threats – high competition with well-known higher education institutions that have long and successfully offered educational services online; lack of copyright protection mechanisms for developers of distance courses at the State level, etc. Some directions of the State support for distance education in Ukraine are proposed, which, first of all, should include measures to provide educational institutions with computer equipment and modern software, the development of high-quality educational material for use in distance learning, and so on.